International Broadcast Centre

The International Broadcast Centre (or IBC) is the generic name for the facility at many international sporting events from which all television and radio coverage is created and broadcast. All stations with the license to broadcast (not just report on) the event are welcome to set up studios inside the facility from which to direct their coverage.

Many host cities for international sporting events will construct a new building for the International Broadcast Centre, while some will use an existing structure. For the Olympics, the facilities remain in operation for roughly six weeks, after which the broadcasters will leave and the building will be converted for other uses.

Examples

• The International Broadcast Centre for the Torino 2006 Winter Olympics was located inside the Lingotto Fiere exhibition hall, a former Fiat automobile factory that was later converted for arts exhibitions. After the games the hall resumed its role as an exhibition space.

• The International Broadcast Centre for the 2006 FIFA World Cup was located in the Munich exhibition center. New facilities were constructed, and after the event the partitioning walls between studios were broken down and reused, while the halls became available for regular trade shows.